The Dark Rider
by Lifaen13
Summary: The story of what happened before Eragon was around. Please read and REVIEW!
1. Prologue

Prologue

The elf Darted through the forest lit by the moon hanging above the canopy of the spine. She raced on her horse through the many twists and turns of the dark emerald palace of trees. Her features of beauty and elegance illuminated through each streak of moonlight that hit them throughout the ride.

A blazing arrow flashed by, and hit a horse that held a dwarf next to the elf. The horse shrieked and fell to the ground as did the rider, but on went the white horse and the elf. A blazing horse went by carrying a black hooded man, his hand held mystic orb of darkness ready to shoot at the eleven warrior.

The Blast shot from his hand, striking the ground right in front of the elf's white horse. The horse tumbled to the ground of shock and the elf jumped into a tree. From branch to branch she jumped. Against her chest she held a oval shaped black stone, doing her best to dodge the hooded mans fury she leapt onto the ground.

She ran to exit the clearing she had jumped into, when walls of black magic rose. She was trapped, a failure to her mission. The hooded man now stood in front of her, He knelt down to the elf's body that lie before him. He stuck out his hand and reached for the stone she was carrying when a force of green magic spurted out from her.

The hooded man was sent back to the opposite side of the clearing, strait into his own magic wall.

"hahahahaha, foolish elf, your magic's weak! The egg is practically in my hands now. This was much easier than I had expected from a creature like you!" The man spoke.

"Shut up shade! You wish this was yours, well too bad, you underestimated me." The elf spoke.

"Silly Arya, you can't possibly stop me." The shade said.

Then the shade reached out and touched the egg, a streak of lightning shot down strait into the egg, the shade withdrew his hand. A clap of thunder sounded followed by another slashed of lightning. The elf got up and upon the third clap of thunder she held out the egg with one hand and muttered a few words in the elven language.

A moment later the egg vanished and a bright green lightning streak struck the ground. The elf vanished leaving the shade there with nothing but the open woods. The shade screamed in vain and then vanished into the darkness of the night.

Droplets of rain pelted down from the sky on this dreary night, and the events that took place would soon cause a great uprising of evil.


	2. Chapter 1: Hunting

Chapter One

-Hunting-

The town of Dras-Leona, a small lakeside town where many made their lives through sales of fish, and marketing other goods was small quiet village like this held only some hundred people. Everyone knew each other and the greetings to travelers were always kind. The entrance stood guarded by two soldiers, the only soldiers the little town had, and the houses were small huts made of straw and some materials from the nearby forest.

It was sunrise; foot steps from the leather-made boots of the marketers could be heard making their way around town on the dirt-paved streets. A boy emerged from a hut with a pole for fishing, and a bow for hunting, he made his way through the town whispering greetings to the common passerby.

The young man passed through the stone archway that had stood for many years as the entrance to the town. He skipped along the path and went towards the forest first to make his rounds of hunting. The forest was quiet at this hour, the only sounds were of deer silently fumbling around on the dead leaves, and a chirp or two every now and then.

The man stood ready with his bow to shoot any stray deer that crossed his path. The silence grew deeper and the boy grew tired of waiting, he settled himself against a tree and kept a sharp lookout. Moments later a deer appeared not to far from him, it put its head down to take a sip of water from the creek.

When the deer had returned to the upright position it looked around as if something were watching it, it then returned to drink from the creak. As soon as the deer's head reached the water the young man snapped his bow and let the arrow glide on the wind strait into the side of the deer. The deer moaned as its last moments were at hand as it fell to the ground.

Once the deer had no sign of life the boy jumped out from behind the tree and carefully made his way to the corpse of the animal. He tied the deer's hooves together and placed him into a black bag, and he sat down, withdrew his fishing pole from his bag, and cast the line into the creek.

He sat and waited from something to tug on the line but nothing moved. The creak water rushed past, occasionally taking the bobber with it, no fish tugged at the line. After awhile the creek carried an object down, it was a dark oval stone but somehow it was floating.

Perplexed by this stone the young man withdrew the fishing line from the water and jumped in. He swam down the creek towards the stone, when he reached it he grabbed it and swam to the edge of the water. When he got himself out of the current he sat on the rocks that made up the creeks riverbed. He sat the sopping wet and held in his hand the large oval stone.

After sitting and drying off under the rising sun he got up and placed the stone into his sack. The man picked up the black bag that held the deer and slung it over his shoulder, then he walked out of the small forest and towards the village of Dras-Leona, where he had left just a couple of hours ago.

He passed the soldiers at the entrance and walked the streets to his house passing the usual stores and once again yelling out greetings.

When he got closer to his home a fat bearded man shouted out from behind his marketplace, "Kill anything today Onyx?"

"Yeah got a deer, no fish today though. We'll be eating good tonight!" Onyx called back to the marketer.

The young man then carried on towards his home, carrying the bag with the deer and his small sack he brought with the bow, and fishing pole. He entered into a hut and slammed the bag down on the table and called out, "I'm home, great kill I got too." No one answered.

He walked throughout the house calling out, "Grandpa, you there, anyone?"

A short bald guy appeared soon enough and replied, "Yes, I'm here, what did you bring home?"

Onyx then replied, "Killed a deer, had no luck with the fish though, and I found-" He then stopped thinking he might not want to mention the stone to his grandfather.

"Found what?" his grandpa asked.

"Oh, nothing, so where's that oaf I call my brother?" Onyx asked.

"He is out in town buying a few things for lunch, can you go and get the-"

Before his grandpa could finish he ran out of the room and set out to find his brother. The old man then mumbled to himself to finish his previous sentence, "get the horses groomed."

Onyx ran out into the town and towards the docks, he knew this was where he'd find his brother. When he got to the docks he saw his brother talking to a strange girl he had never seen before. Onyx then slowed his pace and walked towards the docks to confront his brother.


	3. Chapter 2: Stolen

Chapter 2

-Stolen -

Onyx walked towards the dock, and when he reached his brother the girl he was with left. It was just him and his brother, Galbatorix. His brother was about twenty years old, four year older than himself, and had just returned from journeying the lands.

Onyx went up to his older brother and said, "Um, brother, I have something I need to show you."

Galbatorix turned around from his gaze at the lake and replied, "Okay, what is it?"

"Well we need to go to somewhere where no one is around us." He then looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear them, "let's go back to the house."

The two brothers walked down the dock towards the market area from which Onyx had emerged a few minutes ago. The walk was silent; the two did not often speak to each other since Galbatorix came back from his journey.

They entered the house and went to Onyx's room; Galbatorix sat down and waited for Onyx to start talking.

"So what is it that you wanted to show me?" his brother asked.

Onyx went to his bag he had placed down in the corner of the room before he left to find his brother. He reached into the sack and flipped a few of its contents around, he realized the stone was gone.

Onyx looked up from the bag with a terrified look on his face and said, "It's gone, the black stone I found while I was hunting, it's gone!"

"You found a black stone? What's so special about a stone?" Galbatorix questioned him.

"Well I found it in the river, and it was _floating_! Stones don't float, and especially stones the size of this one."

It was right then and there that Onyx's brother realized what the stone really was, and it wasn't some special stone. "Onyx, that stone you found, it's an egg, A dragon egg."

Onyx's jaw dropped, "A dragon egg. I found a dragon egg."

"Yes and we need to find that egg before it gets into the wrong hands. Whoever has it, probably knew what it was, and not for a good reason." Galbatorix replied.

The two jolted out of the room and went to find their grandpa, when they found him they both started talking and nothing they said was understandable.

"Slow down, and one at a time." Grandpa said.

Onyx spoke first after he caught his breath, "Who has been here since I left?"

"A marketer, he was wearing dark robes, never seen him around but he asked for some goods for his shop. So I let him come in and take a look around." He replied.

"Did he say where he was from?" Onyx asked.

The conversation ended there, when their grandpa told them he didn't say anything else besides what he wanted. Galbatorix left the room and Onyx followed him shortly after and asked him, "What are we going to do now?"

"Give up" replied Galbatorix, he turned around and grinned. Galbatorix walked out of the room leaving Onyx alone.

Later that night when Onyx was sitting around in his room he heard the noise of a door closing. It was late at night and his grandpa was already asleep, so he had figured it was Galbatorix. Onyx got up, took the bag with his bow in it and left the house a few moments after his brother had.

Down the street he saw his brother turn left and walk down an abandoned road, Onyx made his way down the street as silent as he possibly could. When he reached the end of the street he looked around the corner to see if Galbatorix was on the street still. He saw him standing in front of a small house built of brick, one of the few brick houses in the town of Dras-Leona.

His brother entered the house and Onyx ran towards the house, he peered through the window and saw a man in dark robes standing next to his brother. In the man's hands he held the black egg that Onyx had found in the forest earlier that day. Thoughts raced through Onyx's mind, had his brother somehow known about the egg before he went to find him.

He watched more through the window and tried to hear words, but their tone was too low to hear anything. Suddenly a girl entered the room, this girl he had seen somewhere before. Then it snapped in his brain, he saw the girl on the docks with his brother earlier that day, she had long black hair and with her she carried a red stained sword. Fury had been growing within him as he realized his brother was trying to steal the egg from him.

He pressed his head against the wall to hear what they were talking about.

The woman said, "What are your plans now master?"

His brother answered, "Right now we need to stay in town, and my brother will be suspicious if we leave too soon. The egg just went missing today, and I have tried to cover up the subject."

The man in the dark robes then spoke, "But if we stay here much longer people will be wondering what happened to the man who once owned this house."

"I thought I told you not to kill him!" Galbatorix said.

"Well that must have, slipped my mind." The man replied.

"You know what else will slip, this dagger right into your heart!" Galbatorix shouted at him.

"Boys, let's not get angry. We should meet here tomorrow and decide on what to do from there. Tonight I will keep the egg." The woman then walked out of the room and the door began to shake.

Onyx jolted up from his position and ran down the street before the woman emerged from the house. He then turned around and went back home, tomorrow he would return and claim his egg.


	4. Chapter 3: Escape

Chapter Three

-Escape-

When Onyx woke up the next morning his head was throbbing. He got up and stumbled to the bathroom and took some herbs to heal the aching pain he was experiencing. The events of the night before raced through his mind, he couldn't believe he was sleeping under the same roof as the traitor his brother had become.

Onyx emerged from the bedroom and went to the kitchen to get something to eat, to his surprise his brother was sitting at the table. Next to his brother was the woman that he had seen last night and at the dock. He rubbed his eyes, but the woman was definitely there.

"You know it's not polite to stare." Galbatorix remarked.

"Sorry, just rubbing the crust out of my eyes. Who's your friend?" Onyx inquired.

"She's a friend from my journey. Do me a favor and tell grandpa I'll be down at the docks today." He replied.

Onyx grabbed a bowl and placed some walnuts in it then left the room. He couldn't believe that his brother had brought the woman to the house. When he finished his breakfast he went to the stables next to the house to find his grandpa.

Once inside he greeted his grandpa, "Good morning, Galbatorix has gone to the docks for the day."

"He was supposed to groom the horses today. Well I guess you can now then." Grandpa replied.

Onyx grunted and took a brush and started to groom the first of the three horses they had. By lunch time he had finished grooming the first horse, treating himself to a break he ate then returned to the grueling task. Time passed and Onyx had finished grooming and washing the other two horses.

Onyx left the stable and headed back into the house for dinner. As he entered the house his brother emerged, and brushed his shoulder against Onyx's. When Galbatorix had been out of sight he made a face at his brother then entered the house.

After dinner he knew what he had to do, he grabbed his bag and took his bow and a few arrows with him. He then left the house, telling his grandpa he was going hunting. Onyx set off down the street, making his way to the house he had been at the night before.

When he reached this house he saw his brother sitting in an armchair with the egg in his lap. The woman the was at his house in the morning was standing next to the old red armchair, and across the room stood the dark hooded man.

Onyx pressed his ear against the wall and tried to here what he could of the conversation.

"…..I say we light the town on fire and leave tonight. No one will ever no of our escape."

"Hmmm. Yes that could work, but what about the egg?"

"Smash it with a hammer!"

"No you idiot, that would kill the dragon"

"Just give it time sire, the dragon will hatch to you."

Onyx then heard a crash, as some barrels next to the house fell down. Next thing he knew the door flew open and the woman stepped outside. It was only a matter of time before she saw him; Onyx didn't know what to do. He drew his bow and strung an arrow. The woman's head swung around to look towards Onyx; he let go of the arrow and it flew strait into her chest.

A shriek came from her as she fell to the ground; the arrow had pierced her right in the heart. Onyx looked through the room to see if they had noticed the screech from the woman. The dark robed man wasn't in the room anymore; a mist of black was in the spot he had last been.

When the mist cleared it started to appear outside around Onyx, a figure emerged from the mist and grabbed him. The man pulled him by his hair into the house and once in the room with Galbatorix he took out a knife and held it against Onyx's throat.

"Here's the murderer master." The dark man said.

Galbatorix looked up from his stare at the egg and saw the kid struggling to get out of the man's hold. It only took a moment for him to realize that it was his own brother.

"Shall I kill him sir?" the man asked.

"No I will do it, with _magic_. Leave. Now!" His brother answered.

The shade left the room and now only he and Galbatorix remained in the room.

"So you're going to kill me, but how do you know magic?" Onyx asked.

"Well you see, I once had an egg too, did you really think I was journeying just to site see? I left because I found an egg, I went to train the hatchling, so I could join the riders-"

"But you came back, where is your dragon now?" he interrupted.

"My dragon is dead. You see I traveled to the lands of the Urgals with a group of new riders and only I came out. I am lucky to be alive, my men and I were ambushed by a group of Urgals during the night and my dragon was hit. But none of that matters now, because I will hatch this egg, and it shall be my dragon." Galbatorix replied adding a maniacal laugh.

The story continued on for minutes then Galbatorix held up a hand, in his hand red sparks began to appear. Soon the sparks turned into flames, and he held a sphere of magic fire in his hand. As he got ready to strike a silver arrow shattered the window and flew strait into the flaming energy.

The red flames died and Galbatorix cursed, without hesitation he sent an arrow of red magic out of the window and the streets lit up in flames. Screams came from down the street as people woke and realized the town was on fire. During all the commotion Onyx slipped out of the room with the black egg in hand. Galbatorix soon noticed this and again screamed in vain, this time red flames burst out around his body like an explosion was emanating from him.

The flame burst outwards and the house started to crumble, with no sign of anyone emerging. Onyx ran down the streets, to get as far as he could from the house, he knew he had to leave the town. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and then he saw through the separation of two houses his brother. Onyx began to run again, and he kept looking back to see if Galbatorix was following him.

When he got out of the town he headed strait towards the forest, when he got there he looked around to see if anyone had followed him in, when he stopped for a moment he saw a tall dark figure in the distance. The figure began to move closer, and Onyx began to back away, he hoped it wasn't his brother.


	5. Chapter 4: Tales

Chapter Four

-Tales-

Onyx kept backing away, but the figure in the distance came closer. Onyx felt a branch under his foot and suddenly lost his balance falling down. He sat there on the ground defenseless and fearing that this was the end, his brother was about to finish him and take the egg.

As the figure approached the woman extended an arm to Onyx. He took the hand of the woman, she was dressed in white robes; her long silver hair dangled to about shoulder length and her eyes were a bright blue. She helped him to his feet and stared in the deep brown eyes of his.

"You're on the run. Your name is Onyx, and your carrying a black dragon egg." She said then broke the glare.

"How-"

She interrupted him, "Magic, and no I am not crazy."

"Oh great you can read my thoughts too?" he said.

She then glanced around she withdrew a sword from the case hanging on her belt. On top of the hilt was a diamond; it started to glow and the woman weaved it slicing the air, then three silver arrows appeared. The three arrows took off into different directions and sudden cries of pain were heard not far off in the distance.

"We must go" she spoke.

"Where are we going, how can I trust you?" Onyx replied.

She grabbed the dirty blonde haired boys arm and yanked him out of the path of an oncoming arrow. Onyx gasped and then said, "Okay, on second thought let's go!"

The two ran off through the forest, the mysterious white robbed woman leading the way. Deeper and deeper they went into the emerald forest until they were farther then he himself had ever gone hunting. They approached a clearing where a small lake glistened in the moonlight.

The woman he was with walked into it and turned back motioning for him to follow. _Oh great she wants me to drown myself_ he thought to himself. When his foot hit the water, he felt nothing but the solid ground under it, no rush of water of wetness on his pant leg. The lake was some kind of mirage.

When they were fully submerged under the magical water a whole new scene appeared in front of them. It was a cavern that had been lit by one torch hoisted up on a post connected to the wall. Onyx couldn't believe what he was seeing, being under a shield of magical water that was hiding some sort of cave.

The woman sat down on the ground and took out a loaf of bread from a bag that had been concealed by her cloak. She broke the bread in half and handed the bigger half to Onyx; who grabbed the bread anxiously and ate like no other human being.

The woman let out a chuckle and then said, "Hungry are you, well you better eat less my supply is low."

Onyx looked up from the bread and with his mouth half full he said, "I didn't quite catch your name, what did you say it was?"

"The names Leah, I'm a dragon rider." She responded

"If you're a dragon rider, where's your dragon?" he questioned.

"He's flying to Melian as we speak. Now there are a few things you need to know." Leah began.

"Like what?" Onyx replied.

"Alagaesia is changing; the land is becoming torn apart. Dragons have been hatched by many and now it's as if there is a race for them. But as many hatch them, many loose them too; for you see a dragon can only live if the rider lives too. Your brother's dragon died, and with it part of his mind. Galbatorix went to the Rider's Council and pleaded for another dragon egg, but they turned him down." She said.

"So that's when he returned home." He mumbled.

Leah continued on, "When your brother was turned down, then madness began. He started to recruit people, and he was determined to steal a dragon from a rider; fortunately he failed at this. The group he now belongs to is called the Forsworn, this group is rising in numbers and there one goal: to kill every rider that will not join their group."

Onyx gasped, he could not believe what was going on in the world he lived in. He processed the information and then asked, "So what do we do?"

Leah answered, "We leave at daybreak. For now all we can do is wait for the egg to hatch, that is if you are the rider it has chosen."

She then handed him an ancient looking book and told him to read the chapter about dragons. Onyx opened the book and flipped to the table of contents; he skimmed the list and found what he was looking for; _Dragons and their history...pg. 62._

_Many years ago the first men and woman came by boat to the _ _land__ of _ _Alagaesia__. The land was ruled by dragons and elves. The two had fought vigorously against each other, neither side showing any sign of loss. Four years passed and the war raged on still, but now the dragons showed sign of weakness.   
_

_It was then that one man came across a blue egg; a dragon egg. When the man touched this egg a symbol burned into his flesh on his right hand. Months later the dragon hatchling had emerged from its egg and grew to like this man. Eragon, the first to hatch a dragon egg had trained the hatchling to become a strong and fierce beast   
_

_Once the dragon had been properly trained Eragon flew into battle riding on the back of his tamed beast. The elves looked up to the sky at the roaring dragon and saw the figure of a man on its back. Simultaneously the dragons stopped in midair and flew towards the ground to land   
_

_Eragon lifted his sword high and yelled out, "We ride as one!" The elves put down there swords and stopped using magic, and so the dragons stopped their fire breathing. The two races came together and ended the long grueling war   
_

The tale ended there and Onyx closed the ancient book. He set the book down and fell asleep on the cold floor of the dark cavern.

---------------------------------------------------------------


	6. Chapter 5: Magic

Chapter Five

-Magic-

Leah was the first to get up, and an early awakening came to Onyx when she shook him to wake the lifeless boy. With a jolt he sat up and mumbled some words at the end adding, "Oh it's just you."

Leah was still cloaked in her white robes and she had everything ready to depart for their journey to Melian. She spoke little to Onyx as they departed down the dark tunnel that was ahead of them. It was utter darkness that is all they saw for the hours they traveled through twists and turns of the damp cavern.

Onyx hated the feeling of being trapped within the containment of the walls the cave had. He made each step hoping for a light to shine at the end of the tunnel but for hours they still traveled. Having no wish to remain in the tunnel he started to whistle a tune, soon Leah joined along and the song created from their mouths vibrated throughout the cavern echoing.

A small light came into view moments later and Onyx began a sprint towards it. He emerged from the cavern in a minutes notice and fell to the ground looking up at the sky he had so wished to see for the past four hours they had been traveling. Leah came out moments later, but didn't quite seem to care whether she was in or out of the cave.

"I think we should camp her for today." Leah spoke the first words since their departure.

"But what about Melian, aren't we supposed to go there?" Onyx inquired.

"Yes, but right now I don't think it wise to travel into the city." She replied

"But its daylight, what are we going to do all day?" he asked.

"Just set up this tent. I am going to get firewood." Leah replied in a slightly angry tone.

He watched as Leah walked off into the woods, and left him alone to set up the camp. He grabbed the tent clothe from Leah's pack she had left him, and took out the spikes and a hammer. Onyx nailed the spikes into the ground with the hammer and began to set up the tent. When he had finished his task he retired to the inside of the tent and sat down on a stump that had been inside the area he put up the tent.

Onyx took out the book and began to read once again; he flipped to the table of contents this time searching for a new topic. He searched through the list and found a topic; The Dragon and its Rider…..pg 100.

_The rider and its dragon share a connection from the moment the egg reveals itself to its ride; however, this sometimes does not occur until the dragon has hatched. Once a hatchling inside of an egg feels the touch of its rider across its shell the connection is made between the two. A dragon hatchling has a minimum amount of magic in it; this magic is used by the hatchling to make the connection to its rider._

_This magic is one that will transfer to the true rider of the hatchling upon the touch of the egg(possibly even by the touch of the dragon itself if it has not decided its rider upon hatching). Once transferred the rider will have a mark left by the egg on the part of the body that had touched the egg._

_The bond between the rider and dragon is then final, and can only be broken by death. For if a rider dies, along with the rider goes the dragon; however, if the dragon dies a rider will live on. The magical bond that was created between the rider and hatchling is used to protect both the egg and rider from danger._

_If a rider was ever in danger while the dragon remained in an egg the bond would protect the rider with skills bestowed upon the rider never known by them before. A dragons magic is powerful and trained, but a rider must learn the magic and master it before using. Dragons and their rider have the strongest bond of all creatures ever to walk the lands; they are superior to many dangers._

The story ended there and Onyx thought about the information he had just obtained. He wondered whether the egg was truly his, since it had yet to mark him as the true rider. Onyx put the book back into the bag he had with him and withdrew the black oval egg.

He held it in his hand on his lap staring at it for a few moments, wondering what the hatchling inside was doing. It angered him slightly that the egg had not chosen him, and he thought; _what if the dragon doesn't choose me._

Then he heard a hissing noise, almost as if he heard some type of snake speaking. The noise grew louder and the crackle of dead leaves on the ground could be heard. Onyx's heart was pounding so hard, he felt like it would just leap out of his chest. He tried to think that it was just Leah coming back but then the hissing noise came again.

Onyx got up and moved to the front of the tent, he grabbed a danger from Leah's bag and exited to see if he could find the source of the noise. He walked forward towards some trees and then it fell silent. Not one noise was to be heard in the forest, the wind had died and the animals were no longer communicating. He slowly turned around, the crunch of the leaves being the only noise.

Onyx made his way toward the tent now thinking all the noises were just his imagination. Right when he went to enter the tent a dark fiendish figure took hold of him. Onyx screamed as the black monster had hissed and held a blade to his throat. He tried and reached for the dagger he had in his pant pocket but his hand couldn't reach.

Just when he thought it couldn't get worse another of the fiends appeared and began to dash towards Onyx with his blade attached to the arm extended strait towards him. Onyx managed to move in the hold the monster had him in causing the second one to stab the fiend that had held him captive. Onyx was released from the things grip and scrambled to his feet and ran for the tent.

He looked around for the egg, picked it up in his hands and sprinted out of the tent. It was then he had realized that he just exposed himself to the creatures that were still out there. One jumped up into the night's sky and flew down to the ground creating a wave of the earth to move towards Onyx.

He skillfully kept his balance and threw the dagger in his other hand at the second creature. The fiend stumbled back and fell to the ground making hissing noises. Outraged the first monster came at him and stabbed the blade right through Onyx's arm.

A blinding flash of white light emanated from the dragon egg and Onyx felt searing pain from not only the stab but the egg was burning his right hand. The monster withdrew the blade and began to plunge it again this time aiming for the chest.

Onyx then shouted out to the sky, "_garjzla!"_

A flash of lighting stuck the monster instantly and following the first flash came a second striking the other fiend dead. Onyx looked to his wound and saw blood pouring out, he felt drained of all energy and fell to the ground. There Onyx lay motionless as if he were dead.


	7. Chapter 6: Hatchling

Sorry for the delay on this chapter i was busy, anyway thanks for the review, i love getting reviews so when your done reading please just leave comments on what you thought! thanks! and enjoy!

Chapter Six

-Hatching-

Leah was walking through the woods with a pile of firewood in her arms and whistling tunes she learned when she was young. It had been a few hours since she left the campsite they'd established earlier and it was now nightfall. Leah decided to return to the tent, hoping Onyx had put it up.

She emerged onto the grounds of the campsite saw the lifeless body their on the ground. Leah flung the logs of wood up into the air and rushed strait towards her newest companion. The boy had the egg in his arms, but he showed no signs of life. A tear rolled down the Leah's scarlet cheek, and then she muttered a spell, "_Waíse heill" _

A glow of silver emanated from her hands as she hovered them over the boy. Onyx gasped and attempted to sit up, but instead pain rushed through him like blood circulating his body. Leah realized what had happened when she saw the mark on his hand, he was a rider.

"You get some rest, we will talk later." She spoke softly and then picked him up to take him into the tent.

Onyx yelled out in pain when he was lifted, Leah tried to be gentle but the he was in severe pain with even the gentlest touch. Onyx fell asleep quickly and Leah decided to start a small fire to cook something up for the two of them. She placed a pot above the fire and poured in some liquid she had gotten from her bag.

Leah left the stew to simmer and retired to Onyx side to rap the wound Onyx had where the creature had stabbed him in the arm. It was many hours until he had woke from his rest, and when he did Leah had been there at his side with a bowl of soup for him to eat.

He tried to speak but Leah broke in saying, "Eat, you need energy. We have to leave here tomorrow and you have to be in somewhat good condition."

Onyx ate slowly, with each gulp came pain that he could not trace back from where it started. When he felt the pain it didn't hurt in one spot it just hurt everywhere, like he had been stabbed by the sword millions of times.

"L-Leah, these creatures attacked me. They were dark figures, hooded, that had sword like blades attached to there arms. The-"

"The Ra'zac." She muttered, her face suddenly turning pale. "How many were there?" she inquired.

"Ra'zac? That's the creatures that attacked me? There were two of them." He responded.

"Yes they are wicked creatures of death, they kill what the are ordered to and then feast upon the flesh of their prey." Leah said.

The conversation ended their as Onyx returned to eating his soup and Leah sat there with an odd look on her face, like she had spaced out. Once finished with his stew he put the bowl on the ground and picked up the black egg. He began to stare at the egg and wonder how long had the dragon been inside of it, waiting for him to come around.

Leah broke her gaze and then asked, "How do you feel now?"

"I'm fine, just it hurts all over and every time I close my eyes I see the egg letting out a blinding flash of light and then the Ra'zac being struck by lightning." He replied

"You used magic! The light spell you used, it was too powerful for you. The dragon must have protected you; you are lucky to be alive." Leah said.

"You mean I used magic, well my dragon used it? So the egg did choose me?" Onyx questioned.

"The egg did not choose you, the dragon did." Leah said, "Now lay down, I have spell to ease the pain."

Leah then muttered a long incantation and silver sparks flowed from her hands, these sparks entered into Onyx's body and the pain melted away. He could now move with feeling a minimal amount of suffering.

"Magic is something that needs to be used sparingly, if too much is used it will overpower the body and the user will perish." Leah told him.

Onyx took in this information and went outside for a little walk around the campsite. He took the egg out with him and walked around for awhile then sat down against a tree. The egg he held in his hand shook, he felt a peck against his hand. The dragon inside the egg was pecking away at the shell, trying to get out of the cage the held it captive.

Onyx let out a shout of joy and Leah emerged from the tent sprinting towards him. When she got there she saw he was ok and staring at the egg that he held in his lap with a grin on his face. A piece of the shell flew forward and hit the ground leaving a small hole in the shell.

A tiny slimy tongue appeared through the hole and started to lick the surface of the shell. The tongue touched his hand and then retreated into the hole immediately. The creature inside began to peck at the shell more and more; Onyx then decided to put the egg on the ground. The black oval rolled around in circles, bumping into trees and occasionally rolling into Leah or Onyx.

The exterior burst and a black figure somersaulted out of it. The hatchling was no bigger than Onyx's head, with glassy yellow eyes. The pair of yellow eyes that belonged to the black dragon searched around for its rider and began to hobble towards Onyx.

The dragon hopped into his lap and stuck out its tongue licking the boy's hand, the hatchling mouth formed a smile and the creature let out a squeal. The dragon then dashed towards Leah; simultaneously she put her hand down and the dragon came to a halt, from it nostrils came two billows of smoke.

Leah withdrew her hand a backed away and headed for the tent, the dragon chased after her with more smoke puffing out of its nose. She emerged from the tent with a small piece of meat and tossed it to Onyx. The dragon rushed towards him with his tongue hanging out, and then Onyx threw the steak back to Leah. The little creature skidded to a halt and hit Onyx's legs; he turned around and took off for Leah.

After awhile Onyx finally gave his dragon the meat, and the dragon devoured it with its monstrous appetite. He picked up the dragon and went into the tent with it, he then placed it on the ground and lie next to him and shut his eyes. The dragon realized this and shut its eyes slowly and fell into a deep slumber.


End file.
